This song in Spanish is about rowing a boat to find a lost love. It is also a hand-clapping game. The meanings of the words el río (river) and el mar (sea) and undía (one day) are reinforced as children sing them several times.

Children also learn the Spanish phrase se me perdió (I lost it). This a very common and useful verb structure in Spanish. This phrase can be used with anything singular, such as, se me perdió la gorra (I lost my cap) or se me perdió el libro (I lost the book).

Many thanks to the music teacher in Madrid who gave me permission to embed this video! The lyrics and a word-for-word translation follow.

Rema rema, remador, por el río y por el mar;

por el mar y por el río, mientras suena este cantar.

A la China llegaré y si quieres al Japón,

que estoy buscando un tesoro que un día se me perdió.

Un día se me perdió y lo tengo que encontrar:

rema rema, remador, por el río y por el mar.

Por el río y por el mar, rema rema, remador,

que me tengo que casar y estoy buscando a mi amor.

Word-for-word translation (provided to clarify meaning with no attempt at rhyme or rhythm)

Row row, rower, across the river and the sea,

across the sea and the river, while this song sounds.

I will get to China, and if you want to Japan,

because I’m looking for a treasure that I lost one day.

One day I lost it and I have to find it:

row row, rower, across the river and across the sea.

Across the river and the sea, row row, rower,

because I have to get married and I’m looking for my love.

Are you interested in more hand clapping games? You can find more in these posts: